Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1887-03-23
FARM NOTES.

Selected from Farm Stock and Home
There are few crops grown by the
farmers that might not be produced
AT less cost per bushel. Who will say
that the average yields of our wheat,
corn, oats, barley, potatoes, beans,
reas and grasses are anything near
what they should be? When a yield
of so bushels of wheat, IS bushels of
corn, so bushels of oats, SO bushels OF
barley, 800 bushels of potatoes, 30
bushels of peas and beans and three
tons of dried grass to the acre is
possible, where is the sense i'll plod-
ding along from year to year growing
not much more than one-thlrd OF
those amounts? 1t is certainly very
p Dor policy taking nearly three acres
of land to grow what might be grown
necessary two acres, alone, would re-
duce cost very considerably. Then
two-thirds of the manure and labor
now employed upnu the three acres
would probably suffice to raise the
yields of one acre to the maXium
amounts. There is no economy in
cultivating land in such q miserable
way rs to grow but one-third of a
possible crop. Most farmers under
k.,Is II 3 ,,,t. t,k,,
cultivate ii well.
AS a general rule farmers are prone
to neglect their gardens; in fact, some
OF them have no gardens, but depend
upon the general crops for their vege-
tables. A good garden, well supplied
with choice varieties Of vegetables
aud fruits. is one of the greatest luXu-
ries of the farm and household. There
Is no farmer but can afford to have
just such garden; no farmer can af-
ford to be without one. A good
garden and good COW will go Il long
way toward supplying the table with
good, wholesome food for the family.
From an economic Il standpoint alone
it is wisdom to have Il garden. The
time of year is ut hand when this
subject should receive the considera-
ton it deserves.
ia merchant or shop-keeper buys
an article of merchandise which does
not sell readily, or if it sells does not
pay q fair profit. he never makes the
mistake of buying that article again.
He has the means of knowing that it
did not pay, and this knowledge pre-
vents duplication OF his mistake
and loss. A farmer, however, may
raise crop which results in loss
feed COWS which do not make profit
eble returns; keep hogs which give no
remuneration flor corn received, and
these things from year to year, partly
from force of habit, but largely be-
| cause he does not know the exact
| truth regarding the profitableness of
crops or animals. Merchandising is
not so much more profitable than
farming; it is the superior methods OF
the former over the latter which
make the money.
"It is quite probable the farmer
may be mistaken ana conclude that a
crop does not pay when 1t really does.
Farmers are not always the most ae-
curate Of accountants, and if they
were, crop that might be shown, on
paper, to cost more than the market
price might not, i'll reality, cost so
much. Tine accountant would, of
course, charge the crop with rent of
land, manure, seed, cost of time of
men and team in culture, harvesting,
marketing, etc. Now the crop is one
ola regular rotation of crops and is
considered the best one to precede
the next one in the course. To carry
on the operations of q farm a certain
| number Of teams and of men are
necessary. The greater the variety
of crops the more steadily the teams
are kept employed and possibly,
many of the days when the crops is
charged, on account, one dollar or one
dollar and half for their services,
they would be idle were not the crop
grown. So the farmer may really be
better off at the end of the year by
growing crop which book keeping
would show had cost him little
more than it would sell for in marke !"
Elk,